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Abortion fight: Obama asks Supreme Court to reject new Texas law

Clinics are suing the state of Texas over concerns that a new law makes abortions much harder to get.

The Obama Administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a new abortion law out of Texas that resulted in the closing of half the clinics in the state.

The administration is arguing the Republicans are hurting a woman’s ability to get access to necessary health care in the state. The law places more restrictions on clinics and physicians who perform abortions, according to a Reuters report.

Under the new law, women in Texas would have to travel huge distances in order to get an abortion.

An amicus brief — “friend of the court” — was filed with the Supreme Court urging that the law be struck down. A ruling on this matter could have ripple effects and could impact how other states approach such laws — in other words, they may be discouraged or encouraged to pass similar restrictions depending on how the Supreme Court rules.

The clinics are suing Texas, arguing that while the state is claiming to make this move out of a concern for women’s health, it is secretly a plan to undermine access to abortion in the state.

The law places heavy restrictions on providers of abortion services, requiring hospital-grade facilities and that doctors have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The clinics argue that the requirements are necessary because complications from abortions are already incredibly low.

“Those requirements are unnecessary to protect – indeed, would harm – women’s health, and they would result in closure of three quarters of the abortion clinics in the state,” said U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli according to the report.